UTICA, NY - The Utica University baseball team is set to begin its 2023 campaign this weekend in New Jersey. The Pioneers will take on William Paterson at noon on Saturday before taking on Yeshiva University for a Sunday doubleheader beginning at noon from Diamond Nation in Flemington, NJ. 
 
Follow Along: William Paterson will provide live video through https://www.wpupioneers.com/watch/?Live=594&type=Live and live stats at https://www.wpupioneers.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary on Saturday. On Sunday, Yeshiva will have live stats for both games via https://yumacs.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary and will also stream the game live on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/yuathletics/. 
 
2022 Recap: The 2022 edition of the baseball team produced the second-consecutive Empire 8 Championship appearance for the program, as well as the second all-time. The team went 21-18 last season and finished second in the Empire 8 with an 11-8 mark. The team's 21 wins tied the 1991 team for the second-most in a single-season. The Pioneers set new single-season offensive records at the plate with 300 runs scored, 375 hits, 22 triples and 269 runs batted in. The pitching staff also set a new single-season best with 265 strikeouts. 
 
Season Glimpse: With the addition of Medaille University to the Empire 8, Utica will play 18 conference games, down from 20 last season, coming from six three-game sets. The Pioneers' home E8 games will be against Houghton University, Elmira College and Medaille while its away conference games will be at St. John Fisher University, Keuka College, and Russell Sage College. In non-conference play, Utica will host Union College, SUNY Poly and SUNY Oneonta while playing William Paterson, Yeshiva (doubleheader), Fredonia, University of Maine, Presque Isle (doubleheader), Ohio Northern University (doubleheader), Springfield College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (doubleheader), SUNY Canton (doubleheader), Oneonta, Hamilton College, SUNY Cobleskill, SUNY Poly and Wells College either on the road or at a neutral site. The Empire 8 Conference Tournament format has also changed entering this season. Rather than a play-in game followed by best-of-three semifinal series and a best-of-three championship series, the top-four teams will play in a double elimination tournament from May 11-13 with the top-seed hosting. 
 
Leading the Charge: Joe Milazzo enters his 10th season as the head coach of the team. Over his nine seasons, Milazzo has compiled 123 wins while the 21 wins last season were the most the team has had in a single season under Milazzo. Dan Bollana will also enter his 10th season as Milazzo's assistant coach while Zack Landy enters his third year as the team's pitching coach and Luke Schulte begins his second season. New to the coaching staff this year are Rich Diliberto and 2022 Utica baseball alum, Travis Grogan (Middletown, NY/Middletown) 
 
Key Departures: The Pioneers will be without a handful of former All-Empire 8 players who have since graduated from Utica. The team will look to replace the production of outfielder Shamariah McCullough (Brooklyn, NY/Nazareth Regional), infielders Michael Muentener (Fairview, NJ/Cliff Side Park) and Zac Cronk (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Central Catholic), relief pitcher Brian Dinnen (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Walter Panas), and catchers Matthew Fitzgerald (Clinton, NY/Notre Dame) and Noah Barber (Cortland, NY/Cortland). 
 
Cue the Zeppelin: Two-time All-Empire 8 and All-Region designated hitter Joe Battista (Gansevoort, NY/South Glens Falls) is back in the lineup for the Pioneers this season. Last season, Battista slashed .328/.409/.575 to go with 44 hits, 13 doubles, four triples, four home runs and 35 RBI. He also enters the new season one hit shy of becoming the 17th player in program history to record 100 hits. If he maintains his average of 35.5 RBI per season, Battista will easily surpass 100 for his career as well, which would make him the second player in program history to reach the feat. 
 
Let's Cardy: Ryan Cardone (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) enters year three fresh off of becoming the first pitcher in school history to earn all-region honors. Also an All-Empire 8 and Empire 8 All-Tournament Team selection, Cardone appeared in 10 games last season making nine starts and tossed a pair of complete games. He threw 55.1 innings and posted a 5-2 record with a 3.09 ERA, a 1.19 WHIP, and struck out 44 batters to 12 walks. 
 
May The Force Be With You: Two-time All-Empire 8 selection at shortstop and pitcher, as well as an Empire 8 All-Tournament Team honoree, Brendan May (McGraw, NY/McGraw) is back for his second season as a Pioneer. At the plate last season, May slashed .347/.453/.545 with 42 hits on seven doubles, four triples and three home runs. He also worked 23 walks and went on to score 33 runs while driving in 30. On the bump, the hard-throwing righty appeared in 11 games. Over 15 innings of relief, May posted a 3.00 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP while making four saves. He allowed just nine hits and struck out 22 batters as opponents hit just .161 off of him. 
 
Joe Knows: Joe Crossley (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro) came onto the scene in a big way last season. The senior earned All-Empire 8 honors as a center fielder while also finishing second in Empire 8 Player of the Year voting and was part of the 2022 Empire 8 All-Tournament Team. At the dish, Crossley slashed 352/.458/.504 with 44 hits on five doubles, four triples and two long balls while driving in 27 runs and crossing home 38 times himself. Along with his bat, Crossley flashed his leather as well with a 1.000 fielding percentage with 69 putouts and six outfield assists. 
 
Behind the Dish: With the loss of Fitzgerald and Barber, Nathan Yantz (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia) returns this season as the most experienced catcher on the roster. In 24 trips to the plate last year, Yantz connected for nine hits, three of which for extra bases, while driving in six runs. Behind the plate, Yantz finished the season with a 1.000 fielding percentage with 21 putouts and an assist. Matthew Kanyuk (Mellville, NY/Hills East), Daniel Fitzgerald (Clinton, NY/Clinton), Anthony Caracciolo (Middle Island, NY/Longwood), Nick DeLucia (Schenectady, NY/Schalmont) and Ty King (Cicero, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) all return from last season to provide depth amongst the group. Micah Fiorello (Brooktondale, NY/Ithaca) will be the lone newcomer to the unit. 
 
Around the Diamond: The Pioneers have an interesting dynamic around the diamond for this upcoming season with returning stud players as well as new transfers and freshmen. Senior Jack Bono (Frankfort, NY/Frankfort-Schuyler) has started 25 games with a .317 batting average having recorded 19 hits and 12 runs batted in all while maintaining a fielding percentage of .972. Returning junior Steve Sclafani (North Massapequa, NY/Farmingdale) is expected to man second base this season with a fielding average of .931 over his collegiate career. From his seven hits, Sclafani has been efficient with nearly each one driving in five runs over the course of 27 games played. Senior John Longretta returns to the diamond with a career batting average of .273 over the span of 14 games played. New transfer Tyler Jennings (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) will look to make his own footprint in the Pioneers' infield. Having just transferred from Onondaga Community College, Jennings had a batting average of .282 with 20 hits, 12 runs batted in and six doubles in his junior college career. Jennings was also named a part of the 2022 All-Region Team. New transfer Antonio Martinez (Sunrise, FL/Western) transferred from Fayetteville Tech Community College and will give Utica another piece at the hot corner. The team will look to the likes of freshman Andrew Salbinski (Essex, CT/Valley Regional) to make an immediate impact as well as transfers Chris Palmieri (Chester, NY/Warwick Valley) and Aaron Simons (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) and the experience they bring to the dirt. The team will also welcome back David House (Clay, NY/Bishop Ludden) and Joshua Pesnel (Latham, NY/Christian Brothers Academy), who is making the switch from behind the plate, as well as freshmen Lance Berger (Lindenhurst, NY/Saint Anthony's), Noah Klasen (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool), Jacob Pian (Stony Point, NY/North Rockland) and Jeremy Horowitz (Massapequa, NY/Farmingdale).
 
Out and About: Utica has a plethora of talented outfielders headlined by Dom Fasolo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Jason Story (Hilton, NY/Hilton), and John Son (Mellville, NY/Half Hollow Hills). Fasolo hit .294 last season with 25 hits, three home runs and 17 runs batted in. In the field he posted a 1.000 fielding percentage with 28 putouts and two assists. Jason Story (Hilton, NY/Hilton) hit .299 with six doubles and 20 runs batted in with a 1.000 fielding percentage as well. In a season limited due to injury, John Son (Mellville, NY/Half Hollow Hills) hit .244 with 19 hits, eight doubles and a fantastic .513 slugging percentage. Other notable returners are Trey Szatko (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro), Tom Ziskin (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam), Justin Mazovec (Lake Grove, NY/Centereach), Nicholas Iannuzzo (Hicksville, NY/Hicksville), Eric Jefferson (Woodbridge, NJ/Woodbridge), and Cameron Osborne (South New Berlin, NY/Unadilla Valley). New faces to the group include Vincent Camerada (Staten Island, NY/New Dorp), Max Gambitta (Cortland, NY/Cortland), Jaylen Jackson (Utica, NY/Notre Dame), DaShawn Hutchinson (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and Justin Mason (Riverhead, NY/Riverhead) who all look to make an immediate impact.
 
Taking the Bump: Aside from the 2022 All-Region pitcher Cardone, Utica returns many of its arms from last season while adding some high-quality arms between the transfer portal and incoming freshman. Starters from last season include senior southpaw James Roeschlaub (Auburn, NY/Auburn), who has completed back-to-back 50 strikeouts seasons and is one of nine players in program history with over 100 career strikeouts. Fellow lefty Tyler Catalfamo (Albany, NY/Colonie) is also back after making seven starts last year with a 3-1 record and a 4.67 ERA. Jack Krug (Rotterdam Junction, NY/Canajoharie) enters year two coming off of a seven-start season while all-conference relief pitcher Jake Mangino (Sayville, NY/Sayville) will once again be turned to in clutch situations. Returning players out of the pen also include Chris D'Agostino (Liverpool, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse), Nicholas Greene (Rome, NY/Central Valley Academy) Christian Cicchetti (West Babylon, NY/West Babylon), Ramiro Zavala (Groton, CT/Fitch) and Gian Piraino (Ardsley, NY/Ardsley). The Pioneers added an additional 15 players to the pitching staff in Derrike Goutremout (Chaumont, NY/Lyme Central), Kooper Knabe (Cortland, NY/Cortland), Frederick Callo Jr. (Milton, NY/Marlboro), Aidan McCue (Averill Park, NY/Averill Park), Tim Martin (Honeoye Falls, NY/Honeoye Falls Lima), Ben Freeman (Liverpool, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse), Connor Ford (Swedesboro, NJ/Kingsway Regional), Dylan Sullivan (West Orange, NJ/Columbia), Vincent Mogavero (Colonie, NY/Colonie), Noah Klasen (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool), Andrew Paura (Oswego, NY/Oswego), Dean Cox (Washingtonville, NY/Washingtonville), Caden Congdon (Cortland, NY/Cortland), Peyton Newton (Weedsport, NY/Weedsport) and Frank Damico (Staten Island, NY/Saint Peters Boys High School). 
 
About William Patterson: William Patterson is off to a 2-1 start after taking two of three from Stevens Institute of Technology. The team has been very effective offensively, having scored 13 runs in back-to-back games. Coming up big for the Pioneers is Steve Yelin. Yelin is one of three players who are batting over .400 in all three games played thus far but, what separates him from others so far is his ability to not only hit the ball but to get on base. In 14 at-bats, Yelin has gathered seven hits, seven runs, three doubles, a home run, and eight Runs Batted In (RBI). A close second for the offensive side is Colin Lombardo. Lombardo has been equally productive for the team being another one of the three hitters batting over .400 in all three games played. Lombardo is batting .600 with six hits in 10 at-bats, has seven runs, two doubles, and three RBI. Lombardo's success also includes his ability to find ways on base. He leads the team in walks with three as well as two hit by pitches which all contribute to the team high .733 on base percentage. When hitting matters most though the Pioneers are looking to their clutch hitter in Jake Lutz. While Lutz doesn't have as many hits and not as high of an average compared to his teammates Lombardo and Yelin he does come up big when the team needs it most. In 13 at-bats Lutz has five hits and is second on his team with six RBI's, most of which have come with bases loaded. On the defensive side the Pioneers have been in control with Matt Lawler on the bump. Lawler has 3.1 innings pitched thus far posting a 0.00 ERA and now base on balls allowed. Commanding the strike zone has led to his success so far and he looks to continue the success down the road. The Pioneers other top arm currently has been Ian Metzger. Metzger has thrown 3.2 innings, only one base on balls, and a team high so far four strikeouts. With these two on the mound the Pioneers look to them to slow teams down and rally the troops to continue the success at the plate. This will mark the fifth all-time meeting between the teams. 
 
Scouting Yeshiva: The Yeshiva Maccabees are 0-4 to start the season after losing to Western Connecticut State and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, both in a two-game set. The Maccabees turn to three players to get their offense flowing thus far. First up is Sammy Greenberg. Greenberg has been good for the squad so far, slashing .273 in 11 at-bats and has Yeshiva's only two runs on the season. Next up is Joshua Mintz. Mintz is also slashing .273 in 11 at-bats and is looking to keep the pace to help the squad get the ball rolling. Coming in along with Greenberg and Mintz is Aahron Weiden. In one less game, Weiden still gives production. Weiden is hitting .286 in seven at-bats and will be a big help for the Maccabees down the road. On the defensive side Yeshiva has had two pitchers that have given quality innings in their four games played. First up is Joshua Mintz. Not only does Mintz produce offensively for them but has been their best pitcher so far for the Maccabees. In two innings pitched Mintz has posted a 3.50 ERA with two strikeouts. Alongside Mintz is A.J. Zimbalist. Zimbalist so far has posted a 4.67 ERA in three innings pitched and has tallied one strike out. The games will be the seventh and eighth all-time matchups between the teams while Utica enters the series 6-0. Last season, the Pioneers took both games from Yeshiva with 14-1 and 17-1 wins. 

Up Next: Utica will travel to Florida for the 2023 RussMatt Central Florida Invitation from March 12-15.